The ancient
traditions are linked very closely to animals and plants. The
various constituents of the natural role perform many different
functions in mythology. Apart from that, animals and trees are
at times amplified and adapted in different cultures, to become
mystical animals like Pegasus, the flying horse.
The most
common animals in mythology are perhaps the bird, and the serpent.
These two creatures represent the opposite forces of good and
evil, with the birds being in assistance or in service of the
gods in the sky. The serpents, on the other hand, lurk in the
deep dark underworlds, coiling up its slimy body, as though
to strangle the world.
The native
North Americans had an example of this: the Thunderbird, which
was engaged in an eternal battle against the serpents, which
lived in the waters of the world. Central African mythology
also tells of this same idea, where the Lightning bird had the
sky to itself, while the serpent dwelled in the watery underworlds.
In Egypt, the sun fights the serpent Apep during the night.
Yet another example of this concept of struggle between animals,
depicting the battle between good and evil, is from Scandinavia,
where the Norse believed that both a serpent and an eagle existed
on the bough of Yggdrasil, with the squirrel Ratatoskr causing
strife between them. This idea also reiterates the theme of
tricksters.
Another
important animal in mythology is the tortoise, whose shell is
very often associated with land. The tortoise is also the sea
creature with perhaps the closest link to land, but before we
go into that, it is worth mention that many native Northern
American mythologies believed in the world to be in the form
of a giant tortoise, with the upper surface of its shell being
heaven, the lower surface of his shell representing the underworld,
and his body representing the mortal plane.
Indian mythology
features the supreme god Vishnu, who had ten avatars or incarnations.
One of these ten avatars was in the form of the tortoise, who
held a mountain up while the gods and demons stirred the sea
using the mountain. Other South Asian mythologies also attribute
the formation of certain islands to being the shells of tortoises.
The link
between gods and animals is usually very close, especially in
the case of gods who have the ability to change his form, or
shape shift. Anyone who is familiar with Zeus' many love affairs
would know how he often took the form of some other creature
to enter the quarters of the object of his desire. Other famous
shape shifting examples would come from Norse Mythology, where
the god Loki was famous for his ability to change into any form
he wanted, and to thus to get out of sticky situations and to
escape quickly.
Besides
the god's ability to assume the form of animals, many gods possessed
animals as their attendants. Odin himself had two wolves and
two ravens as his attendants. The Greek goddess Athene had an
owl, and Hades had Cerberus to guard the underworld, and Hel
from Norse mythology had the hellhound, Garm. Egyptian mythology
is one prime example of the times when the gods themselves are
not human, but rather take on animal forms.
Humans and
animals share yet another relationship with animals. Native
American mythology especially subscribes to the idea of the
close bond between animals and humans, such that the two sometimes
are one. One culture explains that humans and animals are in
fact animals who have transformed into human beings on landing
on the shores of America.
Plants do
not play a large role in mythology, unlike animals. The most
important instances of plants in mythology are world trees,
which quite a few cultures believe in. These trees hold up the
whole world in its trees and branches. In a Malaysian mythology,
the creator turned half the world's population into trees to
curb overpopulation.
Although
the role of nature amounts up to a lot more in mythology, much
of their role does not carry much significance and would not
come to very much consequence in the discussion of themes in
mythology, but yet it is impossible to ignore their presence.
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The
Afterlife >>
